Bipolar Teen:Bipolar Survival Guide For Teens: Is Your Teen At Risk? 15 Ways To Help & Cope With Your Bipolar Teen Today

Heather Rose

Description

Raising a bipolar teen may prove to be a challenge especially if you do not know whether or not he is bipolar. You may be asking yourself the question: is my teen bipolar? In order to know whether your teen is bipolar or not there are some symptoms that you need to look for. For starters it is very important to know that bipolar teens usually have a combination of manic (extremely high) and depressed (low) moods. Such moods usually alternate or even at times feel a combination of manic and depressed feelings at almost the same time. The bipolar syndrome mostly affects people in the adult stage but not above 35. As much as it occurs in children it is quite rare among them. Such mood variations usually make it very hard for parents to raise a bipolar teen. Bipolar teen symptoms usually differ according to whether it is manic or depressed. Signs of a bipolar teen suffering from manic moods include:Mood changes that are quite severe compared to other aged the same and come from a similar background with him. The teen may appear to be excessively happy or silly and at times irritating. Always unrealistically high with self-esteem. Increasingly talkative as well as keeps changing topics very fast. The teen is easily distracted as he keeps moving from one point to another. Keeps taking risks thinking he will not be harmed. Signs of a bipolar teen suffering from depressed moods include:Sadness that is persistent as well as crying all the time. Lack of interest in his favorite activities. Frequently complaining of pains mostly headaches and stomachaches. Exhibits poor concentration tendencies as well as bore dome and low energy levels. Sleeping and eating patterns are changed. He may oversleep or overeat. Parenting a bipolar teen may be a challenge especially due to the fact that they tend to display characters that are similar to teenagers that have other problems including drug abuse, schizophrenia and delinquency. It is therefore important that as a parent of a bipolar teen to find professional help for you to be able to understand your teen so as not to be in a position to make any mistakes. Such a diagnosis can only be done by a competent doctor as well as a child and adolescent psychologist. Living with a bipolar teen my also prove irritating at times especially for the siblings hence they need to be enlightened on their sibling's condition for them to be able to understand the bipolar teen within the family or class. Bipolar teens can get effective treatment to try and correct their conditions. Medication such as lithium and also being exposed to psychotherapy will help very much in ensuring that the teen is relieved from bipolar disorder. The lithium in most cases helps in the reduction of the amount and severity of the episodes as well as prevent manic and depression episodes. Psychotherapy also helps the bipolar teenager understand himself better and even adapt to stresses and even be able to improve their relationships as well as help them rebuild their self-esteem.

Informations

• Publié par: Speedy Publishing LLC
• Date de parution: 10 juin 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781628841367
• Langue: English

Extrait

BIPOLAR DISORDER
SURVIVALGUIDE FOR TEENS
By:Heather Rose
Tableof Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
What Is Bipolar Disorder
Chapter 2
Is Your Teen At Risk?
Chapter 3
What Are The Symptoms?
Chapter 4
Are There Any Other Health Problems Associated WithBipolar Disorder?
Chapter 5
How Is Bipolar Disorder Diagnosed In A Teenager
Chapter 6
How Is Bipolar Disorder Treated In Teens
Chapter 7
What to Expect When Your Teen Is Being Treated
Chapter 8
Where Can You Get Help for Your Teen
Chapter 9
How to Cope With a Teen with Bipolar Disorder
Chapter 10
How to Help a Teen with Bipolar Disorder Survive
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Introduction
Ifleft untreated Bipolar Disorder can cause the sufferer to have alternateperiods of feeling depressed and lethargic to feeling excitable, restless andhaving difficulties sleeping. There has been much research carried out over theyears relating to this illness however most of it has been focused mainly onadults rather than on teenagers. However in the past 10 years or so as more andmore mental health professionals become aware that this is an illness thatchildren and adolescents can suffer from so they are starting to do furtherresearch into it.
Whatthese studies have now discovered is that approximately 1% of teenagers betweenthe ages of 14 and 18 years have this illness. Also what has been found is thatthe condition tends to be a lot more severe in children and teenagers than itis in adults. Plus if they do develop early onset bipolar they tend to sufferwith a lot more symptoms and furthermore they have a greater resistance to anytreatment provided.
Onething as parents of teenagers with bipolar disorder that you need to be awareof is that they are much more susceptible to self-injury as well as carryingout aggressive or impulsive acts. Plus they are also much more susceptible tosubstance abuse. Yet through the right sorts of treatment (psychotherapy andmedication) you can help your child to deal with this illness more effectively.
Anyteenager who is diagnosed with having bipolar disorder will suffer from acombination of manic (extremely high) and depressive (low) moods on a regularbasis. Although there does tend to be some gap between when a manic ordepressive episode occurs, in some teenagers there may be little or no gap atall.
Generallybipolar develops in most people in their adult lives before they have reachedthe age of 35. However although rare in children it can occur in someadolescents and can affect both boys and girls alike.   Of course if either oneof you has been diagnosed with having this particular illness then of coursethe chance of your child developing it also is much greater. In fact there is a5 to 10% chance that should one or both of you have bipolar disorder then yourchild is at risk of developing it as well.
Alsoyou need to be aware that should your child begin to develop this illness inthe future the initial symptoms showing may vary. Some children will suffer amanic episode initially whilst others will suffer a depressive one. Of courseyou also need to be aware that some of the symptoms associated with thisillness are actually the same as that come from other illnesses or disorders.In some cases you may find that your child doesn’t actually suffer from bipolardisorder but suffers from ADHD, schizophrenia or could be caused through themabusing substances such as alcohol or drugs. So before you try any course oftreatment for your child to help them deal with their problems it is importantthat you seek out the right kind of diagnosis first.
Justlike adults, teenagers with bipolar disorder can be effectively treated. Ofcourse it is important that you make sure that your teenage son or daughterdoes continue with the course of medication prescribed as well as attendregular sessions with their psychotherapist. If they don’t then of course theyare at risk of having a relapse.
Inthis book not only do we provide more detailed information relating to bipolarin teenagers but also offer some advice about ways that you can help yourteenage son or daughter to cope with their illness more effectively. However itis important that you make sure that all those who are in daily contact withyour child understand as much as possible about their illness. Plus also youmake sure that you keep your child’s doctor informed of any changes that occurwhilst they are being treated for this illness. If you don’t then themedication they are taking may not be as effective and in turn this could leadto them suffering more manic or depressive episodes, which in turn could leadto them finding it difficult to cope even with the most trivial of things on adaily basis.
Chapter 1
What Is Bipolar Disorder
Anyonewho suffers from Bipolar Disorder will find that they have periods when theyfeel in a very good mood or feel very depressed and irritable. Thesefluctuations in the person’s moods can occur very rapidly.
Bothmen and women can be affected by this particular mental health disorder andusually the symptoms associated with it will start to appear in some peoplebetween the ages of 15 and 25. However there are now cases of it being reportedin very young children as well.
Whatactually causes a person to suffer from Bipolar Disorder is still known.However the people who tend to suffer from it are those who already have afamily member who suffers from this disorder. Certainly teenagers whose motheror father or even grandparents suffer from this mental health disorder are athuge risk of developing the illness as well.
Thereare three forms of bipolar disorder that teenagers could actually suffer from.
1. BipolarI Disorder – If a teenager suffers from this form of the condition they willhave had at least one full manic episode as well as them suffering from periodswhere they are severely depressed. Previously and even sometimes today thisform of bipolar disorder was called manic depression.
2. BipolarII Disorder – With this form of the disorder a teenager won’t experience a fullmanic episode. Rather what they will experience periods when they have lots ofenergy and are extremely impulsive but it won’t be as extreme as thatexperienced with mania and called hypomania. Also they will find that theysuffer from more periods where their moods alternate between feeling good andfeeling depressed.
3. Cyclothymia– This is the least severe form of Bipolar Disorder that teenager can sufferfrom. Their moods will again fluctuate but what they experience won’t be asintense.
Youneed to be aware that if your teenager suffers with Cyclothymia or Bipolar IIDisorder that they may be incorrectly diagnosed.